Protecting Human Security During COVID-19

We aim to drive legislation to serve the fundamental rights of civilian populations, with healthcare and economic security for all.

April 14, 2020

We must improve human security in the next phases of coronavirus relief. Human security refers to living in dignity and freedom from fear. We aim to drive legislation through focused efforts toward racial and socioeconomic equity in healthcare, employment, and criminal justice for the most vulnerable people in our country.

The coronavirus pandemic has magnified massive structural inequality in America. Black and brown communities have been hit particularly hard by the virus due to disparities like higher rates of chronic illness, lack of healthcare, and lower household incomes that have made them disproportionately susceptible to illness and economic despair.

The poor and people of color comprise the majority of service workers, and without the option of staying home, they continue performing the essential jobs that provide the rest of us with what we need, further exposing them to the virus.

African Americans also make up more than half the prison population in Michigan, Illinois, Louisiana, and Maryland — all states reporting higher rates of infection and in Black people testing positive for COVID-19. Implicit bias that has disproportionately put people of color in jail for decades now has them sitting in prisons that are headed toward major outbreaks of illness and death.

The underlying injustices must be addressed now, and the long-term effects of this crisis could devastate generations to come. The next phases of coronavirus relief legislation must put human security and our nation's most vulnerable people first.

Please join us in telling your Member of Congress to support the congressional initiatives below.

Building Capacity in Clinics.

Local clinics, particularly those in communities of color or poorer communities, are underfunded, ill-equipped, and therefore incapable of effectively treating COVID-19. We need efforts by the U.S. government to build capacity in our clinics.

Providing an Income Safety Net for Employees.With many becoming jobless during this pandemic to protect their health or care for their loved ones, our workforce is in dire need of a federal measure to ensure their employers provide them with paid sick leave.

Recommended policy to support: Senator Patty Murray’s bill, S.3415 Paid Sick Days for Public Health Emergencies and Personal and Family Care Act, would require all employers to provide each employee with paid sick leave to address their health concerns and the health concerns of their family. The paid sick time would cover employees whose workplace closed due to a public health emergency, whose presence may jeopardize public health because of exposure to a communicable disease, and who must provide care for their family.

Reforming Criminal Justice.Prisons, in their current conditions, are already becoming a hotbed for the pandemic. We need criminal justice reform to lessen the overpopulation and to provide adequate healthcare to inmates.

Recommended policy to support: Congressman Jerrold Nadler and Congresswoman Karen Bass’s bill, H.R.6414 COVID–19 Correctional Facility Emergency Response Act of 2020, would amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to establish the Pandemic Jail and Prison Emergency Response grant programs to allocate funds to state and local governments to provide testing and treatment for COVID-19 to individuals in correctional facilities. This bill would also enact the immediate release of individuals who do not pose a public safety risk.

We are building a coalition that represents a broad range of faiths, ethnic backgrounds, and sectors of our society. We are also leveraging our allies in Hollywood to help amplify this message. And with your support, we will form a movement to advocate for this critical legislation on Capitol Hill.

With a few clicks, you can tell your Members of Congress to support these pieces of legislation and advocate for those suffering the most on the frontlines of this pandemic.